Programs

Physician Shortage Area Program

This program is designed to increase the supply of physicians in rural areas and small towns. The Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP) admits students from rural areas and small towns who are also committed to practicing in a similar area. Priority will be given to those planning to practice family medicine, although applicants planning other specialties, or unsure of their future specialty, will also be given consideration. Selective consideration for admission and preferential treatment for financial aid are given to students who certify their intention to adhere to the terms of this program. Please visit the PSAP web site for more information on the program.

Penn State Accelerated Program

An accelerated premedical program was begun in 1963 as a cooperative agreement between Penn State College of Science and SKMC. Students earn both the BS and MD degrees in six or seven years after graduation from high school. Students spend the first two/three years at University Park and then proceed to SKMC for its regular four-year curriculum. The BS is awarded after two years at SKMC and the MD after the fourth year.

Medical Scholars Program

Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the University of Delaware have developed a joint Medical Scholars Program (MSP) which began in Fall 1991. The program links college to medical school with an early admission process for qualified students.

International Medical University Program

Sidney Kimmel Medical College is one of 24 medical schools in the English speaking world who have entered into a joint arrangement with the International Medical University (IMU) to assist it in the establishment ultimately of an MD degree granting institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Currently students spend two and a half years at the IMU undergoing their preclinical training, joining one of the partner schools after the successful completion of the preclinical phase for their clinical education and an MD degree. Representatives of the partner schools have been involved from the outset in the design and evaluation of the educational program offered at the IMU through membership on its Academic Council. The aim of the IMU is to improve the health care of the populations of Malaysia and the other countries of the Southeast Asian region. Jefferson is the only U.S. participant in this innovative approach to medical education, which began when the IMU was launched in 1992.

Post Baccalaureate/Pre-health Program

Post Baccalaureate/Pre-Health Programs (PBPH) exist between Sidney Kimmel Medical College and both Jefferson College of Biomedical Sciences and Bryn Mawr College. The programs are an early decision plan for entry in the MD program at SKMC for candidates accepted into the PBPH programs. A baccalaureate degree plus the need for additional course work to meet the prerequisites for entry into medical school are required. Suitability for a career in medicine is based on academic credentials, motivation, and personal qualities. Completion time for course work is one year, full time, and two years, half time (with full time employment).

Dual Degree Programs

Combined MD/PhD Program

Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Jefferson College of Biomedical Sciences jointly sponsor a program for the training of medical scientists that requires approximately seven years of study and leads to both the MD and PhD degrees. The purpose of the combined degree program is to provide a small number of highly qualified individuals not only the broad biomedical background and clinical insights of a physician, but also the rigorous research training that is characteristic of a basic science PhD. This integrated training experience is designed primarily for student with expressed interest in biomedical teaching and research careers. Read more about the Combined MD/PhD Program.

Joint MD/MBA-MHA Program

Recognizing that vast economic, organizational and political changes have dramatically changed the practice of medicine and transformed it into a huge industry, Sidney Kimmel Medical College has sought to prepare future graduates for leadership roles in this enterprise. A joint five-year MD/MCA (and MHA) program exists for highly motivated students as a result of an educational partnership with Widener University in Chester, PA, approximately 25 minutes from the main Jefferson Campus. Interested students are urged to contact the director of health policy and clinical outcomes, preferable during the interviewing process, in order to more fully explore the requirements, prerequisites and other detailed aspects of this unique joint program. Opportunities for research, administrative field placements and potential fellowship support exist.

Dual MD/MPH Program

A dual MD/MPH program is now available on campus at Thomas Jefferson University. The program allows medical students to complete the master of public health (MPH) degree program in one additional year. After the second or third year of medical school, MD/MPH students take a year of public health courses including a short community-based public health experience (Clerkship) and begin their final capstone project which may be completed during their elective time in their final year of medical school. Students are allowed to transfer up to nine credits from their medical school education into the MPH program, reducing the credit requirement to 33 credits. In the past, the joint degree was available only by attending classes in Baltimore in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins University. This option remains available. Prevention of disease, promotion of healthy lifestyles, environmental awareness, public advocacy, communication, cultural competence, program planning and evaluation are addressed in the MPH program. The MPH degree has value in the marketplace and provides graduates the tools needed to affect change in any chosen area of health care or public health. The combined degree program is especially valuable. It will be useful to students who wish to include administration, management, research, policy, or advocacy in their future careers. Graduates with joint degrees can pursue careers in public health departments, health centers, academia, insurance organizations, consulting firms, international programs, non-profit organizations, the pharmaceutical industry, etc. Students interested in this dual degree program can apply to the MPH program anytime after beginning their medical education.

College within the College

A national trend in medical education is the development of programmatic tracks providing interested students with academic/research opportunities outside of the traditional medical curriculum. As the medical school that pioneered clinical training at the patient’s bedside, SKMC has the impetus to stay at the forefront of medical education.

We have initiated the first phase of a multi-year plan to reform our clinical curriculum, starting with changes that will instantly distinguish us among medical schools. Starting with the Class of 2014, students have the option to select among areas of concentration as part of a new 'College within the College' (CwiC)track at SKMC. Clinical Translational Research and Population Health will be the first offerings, with more choices to follow in the years ahead.

Through workshops, seminars, and active research experience laced throughout the four years, and buoyed by close relationships with faculty research advisors and mentors, students will gain insights and skills in cross-cutting domains that will enrich their clinical medicine training – and this without having to stay an additional year for a formal master’s degree. However, students choosing the CwiC-Population Health track can transfer up to 15 credits toward an MPH Degree in Jefferson’s College of Population Health.

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